Oklahoma is set to hire Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for the same role on Brent Venables’ staff, according to The Athletic. Arbuckle has run the Cougars’ offense for the past two seasons.
Venables dismissed Seth Littrell as OC after the Sooners’ 35-9 loss to South Carolina. The prior week, Oklahoma only scored three points against Texas.
Co-offensive coordinator Joe Jon Finley took over as the Sooners’ play-caller. Oklahoma averaged 27.4 points in its final five games of the regular season, but that is skewed significantly by the 59 points scored against Maine, an FCS-level school.
The Sooners finished 121st among FBS schools in total offense, averaging 322.5 yards per game and 4.78 yards per play. Their average of 24.3 points per game (and season total of 292 points) ranked No. 94 in the nation.
Under Arbuckle, Washington State ranked 12th in FBS with an average of 36.8 points (441 total) per game. The Cougars also averaged 440.4 yards in total offense, averaging 6.65 yards per play.
Oklahoma finished 6-6 in its first season in the SEC and struggled to find consistent quarterback play all season. Sophomore Jackson Arnold (a five-star recruit) was benched for freshman Michael Hawkins Jr., then the offense went back to Arnold.
Injuries also wiped out the wide receiving corps, with the roster’s top six pass-catchers missing significant time. Leading receiver Deion Burks played in only five games, finishing with 31 catches for 245 yards and three touchdowns. And Brenan Thompson was the only other receiver to catch more than one TD.
Arnold finished with 1,421 yards and 12 TDs passing, completing 63% of his throws. He was also the Sooners’ second-leading rusher with 444 yards and three scores on 150 carries.
Whether Arnold comes back next season — and how Arbuckle’s hiring could factor into that decision — has yet to be determined. Following Oklahoma’s 37-17 loss to LSU last Saturday, he told reporters that there was “nothing making me want to leave or nothing making me waver from being here.”
There are rumors that Washington State quarterback John Mateer may enter the transfer portal, which will surely lead to rumblings that he could follow Arbuckle to Norman, Oklahoma. The sophomore threw for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns, completing 65% of his passes. He also ran for 826 yards and 15 TDs.
Prior to running WSU’s offense, Arbuckle was the offensive coordinator at Western Kentucky, overseeing a unit that scored 36.4 points per game and averaged 352.2 yards passing in an Air Raid-style system.